STENA Line is telling passengers is has no plans to axe its fast ferry crossings from the port of Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire in Ireland because of escalating fuel costs.

The reassurance comes just a day after company chief executive Gunnar Blomdahl said Stena would have to consider withdrawing all its high speed ferries if oil prices rose from the recent level of $70 a barrel to $100.

The ferry operator has already slashed the frequency of sailings by the HSS Stena Explorer on the Irish Sea route from the Welsh port and wants Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company to cut harbour dues.

The Explorer, which can carry 1,500 passengers, makes the crossing in 99 minutes, about half the time taken for the conventional ferry Stena Adventurer on the Holyhead to Dublin crossing.

But Stena has already withdrawn a high-speed vessel from a North Sea route and says about 10 high speed ferries are up for sale in Europe after being removed from various routes. Mr Blomdahl revealed the company was keeping a close watch on fuel costs notched up by similar catamarans on the Irish Sea.

He said that type of vessel was designed in the 1990s on the assumption that oil would remain at about $20 a barrel, and that if fuel prices hit $100 then Stena would have to consider withdrawing the vessels or testing the market with higher ticket prices.

Yesterday a Stena spokesman said: “There are no plans to withdraw the Stena Explorer from service.

“The vessel makes two round trips a day from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire.”

However, he conceded that if oil prices went as high as Mr Blomdahl feared then the company would be forced to review the situation.

The company said earlier this year that the level of harbour dues charged by Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company was “a major cause of concern and a very real threat to the long term viability of the route”.

It added that the continuation of the service was in doubt when the current contract runs out in 2011 unless the issue could be resolved.

Talks between Stena and Dun Laoghaire are expected to resume in a matter of weeks following the Irish general election and new appointments to the Irish port’s board.